NewsRelease

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
Langley Research Center
Hampton, Va. 23681-2199

Kimberly W. Land Feb. 5, 2004

(Phone: 757/864-9885, 757/344-8611 mobile)
k.w.land@larc.nasa.gov

RELEASE: 04-010

NASA CONFERENCE ENCOURAGES FUTURE EDUCATORS

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS GET TOOLS THEY NEED TO SUCCEED

NASA Langley Research Center’s Office of Education and Norfolk State University’s (NSU)
School of Science and Technology are gearing up to provide future teachers with the
knowledge and skills they need to be more effective in the classroom. NASA and NSU are
hosting the ninth annual Pre-Service Teacher Conference held February 12-14 at the Hilton
Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Va.

The three-day conference is designed to enhance the teaching skills of future elementary
and middle school teachers while incorporating technology into the curriculum. Over 750
undergraduate students and faculty members from Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities are expected
to attend the conference. This year, the conference includes participation from select
majority institutions. Participants are nominated to attend by their faculty advisors.

Students can attend general sessions with internationally known guest speakers; interactive
workshops with educators, scientists, and researchers; and a career fair where recruiters
from school systems in Las Vegas, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cleveland,
Atlanta, Daytona, Ohio, and Norfolk will be interviewing prospective teachers.

Dr. Adena Williams Loston, NASA's Associate Administrator for Education, will open the
conference. "Our country needs more programs like the Pre- Service Teacher Conference
to attract future generations of young people to the teaching profession and to motivate
students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics." says Loston. "It is
through such programs that we expand and strengthen the Agency's education mission to
inspire the next generation of explorers … as only NASA can."

Dr. Calvin Mackie, motivational speaker and teacher from Tulane University, New Orleans,
La., will the keynote address. Mackie is recognized for his dynamic deliveries and sees the
conference as critical to the development of future teachers.

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A highlight of the conference will be the appearance of NASA Astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa. In
1993, Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to fly in space as she studied the Earth’s
ozone layer during a nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Ochoa, a
classical flutist, has received numerous NASA awards and was selected by President
Clinton in 1999 to serve on the Presidential Commission on the Celebration of Women in
American History.

Media Opportunity: Members of the media are invited to talk with Astronaut Dr. Ellen
Ochoa at 4:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Contact
Kimberly Land at (757) 344-8611 for details and directions.

Other distinguished guests include Dr. Chauncey Veatch, 2002 National Teacher of the
Year, and Dr. Aziza Baccouche, president of AZIZA Productions, Inc. A retired U.S. Army
Colonel, Veatch decided to use his doctorate in jurisprudence to teach social studies at
Coachella Valley High School, Thermal, Calif. Baccouche’s company, AZIZA Productions,
Inc. produces science news segments and features for the media. As a nuclear physics
graduate student, she wrote, produced and reported science news stories for CNN in
Washington, D.C., for two years. Her stories ranged from technologies for the blind to
quantum computers.

Also featured is Dr. Dennis Kimbro, a renowned educator, public speaker and business
consultant. Kimbro has been featured in USA Today, Newsday and Black Enterprise
magazine and has appeared on CNBC, BET and PBS television networks.

“NASA is excited about hosting over 750 future education majors representing more than 70
minority and major colleges and universities with certified education programs. These
students will be coming from over 31 states to attend the NASA/NSU Conference,” says
Roger Hathaway, NASA Langley’s University Affairs Officer.

The conference is part of the Pre-Service Teacher Program (PSTP) that consists of the Pre-
Service Teacher Institute, held during the summer. This year, two-week programs will be
held at NASA’s Langley Research Center, Ames Research Center, Marshall Space Flight
Center, Stennis Space Flight Center, Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center.
The Universities of Sitting Bull, ND, and Sinte Glesak, SD, will also host summer institutes.
The PSTP is a partnership between NASA and NSU in Norfolk, Va. For more information,
visit:

http://edu.larc.nasa.gov

http://edu.larc.nasa.gov/pstp

http://edu.larc.nasa.gov/pstp/psti

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